Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva decided on Thursday to dissolve the parliament and call for elections on June 5. This is the outcome of the political crisis that started on March 23, when the five opposition parties from the left to the right wing united to defeat the government budget cut measures.


HTML clipboard Portugal's President Anibal Cavaco Silva attends a news conference at the Belen Palace in Lisbon March 31, 2011. Silva on Thursday dissolved parliament and set a snap election for June 5 following the resignation of the minority Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Socrates.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
According to President Cavaco Silva, "In the current parliamentary framework it was not possible to generate a government solution that could run the country's affairs. I have taken this decision having in mind the difficulties of the minority government to approve the necessary measures to face the country's problems. There is also a lack of confidence between the political parties."


Although the parliament decision was a week ago, the president only could announce his decision Thursday because of the legal formalities. He had to call for a State Council meeting a mandatory presidential advisory board before publishing his decision.


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